TEMPLE — Temple Academy’s first tourney game at the Augusta Civic Center Wednesday earned them a return trip.

The Bereans broke open a tight game in the second half to beat Highview Christian 60-44 in a Class D South quarterfinal.

Temple, of Waterville, advances to Thursday’s semifinal to play top-ranked Rangeley. It was the sixth win in the past seven outings for the Bereans.

Junior forward Kiara Carr led fourth-seeded Temple (13-6) with 28 points, 12 rebounds and six steals. Deleyna Carr added 13 points while Selam Heinrich scored 11 for the Bereans, which had beaten Highview twice during the regular season.

The Knights (12-7) were making their first tourney appearance in 21 years of a program. Highview had gone 3-27 the previous two years. Kelsea McDonald led the Knights with 13 points while Megan McDonald added 10. Fouls and turnovers proved costly for Highview. The Knights lost both Megan McDonald and Cassidy Burns to fouls while the team committed nearly 30 turnovers.

It was a back-and-forth open half in which the teams were tied four times and traded the lead multiple times. A basket by Deleyna Carr tied the game 23-23 at the half.

In the third, Highview turned the ball over 12 times and watched Temple open the double-digit lead. Carr scored seven points in the third while Heinrich added six to build the lead with a 12-2 run.

Up 41-31 after three, Temple maintained the lead in the fourth. Kiara Carr had 13 points in the final quarter. Though Highview closed the lead to 45-37 midway through the fourth, Carr scored a three-point play and Veronica Rossignol hit a pair of free throws to rebuild the lead. From there, Temple finished the game with a 10-5 surge.

kmills@sunjournal.com

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